The present invention relates to an infant car seat having a separate infant carrier that can be detachably connected to a base support or used by itself for mounting on a vehicle seat. More particularly, the invention relates to a rearwardly facing infant car seat with a removable infant carrier having an adjustable handle.
Rearwardly facing infant car seats are needed to support small infants generally under 20 pounds in weight and less than 1 year old in a safe and secure position in the rear seat of a vehicle. A need exists for a car seat that can be conveniently removed from the vehicle to serve as an infant carrier and also provide a safe restraint for the infant when mounted in the vehicle either in combination with a separate base support or by itself. The infant carrier can also provide a means for supporting the infant in a stroller in a rearwardly facing direction. An infant carrier should provide a convenient means for carrying around a small infant while supporting the infant in a safe and comfortable position. In order to serve as such a carrier when removed from a vehicle, the carrier should have a handle that allows alternative ways of carrying depending on the size and strength of the person carrying the carrier.
An infant carrier that is intended to serve in various capacities as a car seat, a stroller seat and a convenient way to transport a small infant, requires a simple, easily operated connection mechanism that allows for engagement and disengagement with separate support structures. When the infant carrier is used as a car seat, the carrier can be belted directly to a vehicle seat or mated with a separate base support that can remain secured to the vehicle seat. When the infant carrier is used as a stroller seat, the carrier can be mounted on a grab bar formed as a portion of a tray or bolster or other attachment points on the stroller.
When a rearwardly facing infant car seat is mounted in the rear seat of a vehicle as recommended to provide the safest possible position for a small infant, an adult driver of the vehicle can not easily monitor the infant. Accordingly, existing infant car seats are often placed in the front seat of the vehicle against safety recommendations to allow the parent to keep an eye on the infant while driving the vehicle. This practice creates an unsafe condition in vehicles equipped with front passenger seat air bags, since the impact from a rapidly inflating air bag could cause serious injury to the infant, even when strapped into an infant car seat.
In view of the above desired applications and problems and disadvantages associated with conventional infant car seats, an infant car seat according to an aspect of the invention includes a separate infant carrier and base support for supporting the infant carrier in a rearwardly facing direction in a vehicle seat. The infant carrier includes an adjustable handle that is pivotally connected at opposite longitudinal ends of the carrier. The pivotal connections are positioned near the centers of the head and foot ends of the carrier and allow the handle to be moved to one side of the carrier or the other to provide easy access to the seating area of the carrier. The handle is preferably at least partially self-supporting so that it will remain separated from an infant in the carrier when positioned over the seating area.
The base support has a substantially L-shaped configuration with the primary axis of the base support being substantially vertical when mounted on a vehicle seat. An infant carrier engagement portion of the base support mates with the infant carrier and restrains the carrier against movement caused by inertial loads when the vehicle rapidly decelerates. A substantially vertical back portion of the base support extends above the foot end of the infant carrier when the carrier is mated with the base support and is positioned substantially parallel to the back of a vehicle seat. A mirror is mounted on the back portion of the base support. The mirror is positioned so that an adult driver of the vehicle can see the infant in the carrier in the vehicle""s rear view mirror.
The infant carrier is provided with separate engagement mechanisms for releasably locking the carrier to the base support when in use as a car seat, and to a stroller attachment when in use as a stroller seat. In a preferred embodiment the engagement mechanisms are latch hooks that are actuated by linear reciprocation of a handle mounted on the rear side of the carrier opposite from the seating surface. A biasing means urges the handle to a retracted position at which respective latch hooks are engaged with either the base support on a vehicle seat or a stroller attachment.